Dirt Diaries

It is a ritual around the WBR that as soon as the snow melts, we get busy - cleaning up from the winter hibernation - repairing and clearing trails and features, building a little more trail of course, cleaning up campground and opening up the campground bath house, organizing and opening up the store/office to welcome guests, getting our rental equipment in order and our Shuttle Van all ready for another season taking guests out on their adventures.

Campsites Available May 1st for Reservations - Book Yours Today! -You can ride right out of you campsite onto single track around our property and the Whitefish Trail. -Hot showers in the BEST bath house in the WEST!-Bike wash station in campground-Bike tools and stand available for campers at the office-Pump Track and Skill Area located in camping area-Dogs welcomed-WiFi located around Office/Store area-Campsite have fire pit and picnic table and bike racks

Checkout the photos below from around the WBR and the Whitefish Trail!It is easy to book a stay online or give us a call for assistance.

JULY 28-29, 2017The 1st Annual JC Pancake Ride will start and end at the Whitefish Bike Retreat and will show case some of the best and most scenic gravel grinding routes in Northwestern Montana! Ride along the Whitefish Range and over to the western edge of Glacier National Park and as if that can be topped - your stop at Polebridge Mercantile will try - riders get a complimentary Huckleberry Bear Paw! The Pancake Ride is a One-Of-A-Kind experience - there is no other gravel grinder out there like this one - mark your calendars for years to come as the route will change every year to highlight different area land marks.

Plan your summer now and bring the whole family who can enjoy the WBR while you are out riding 15,000 feet of up and down over 140 miles. Onsite Camping and Private Rooms and Single Bunks available at the WBR - so you wake up, walk out the door and ride and and end your day at the WBR to rest and recover with your family and friends.​SLEEP - WAKE - RIDE PACAKEwww.whitefishbikeretreat.com406-260-0274

​Grab your friend and plan a bikepacking adventure in Montana. The Whitefish Bike Retreat can help get you started or with logistics - bike and bike bags gear rentals, shuttles to any destination you need, accommodations or any questions. Great Divide Mountain Bike Route experts!!!

ORGather your Friend(S) and plan a group outing on 2 Wheels! We have helped others learn the basics of bikepacking with group discussions about gear, how to pack you bike and shakedown rides around the WBR to find out what works and does not work. Want to take the next step?Then it is time to plan an overnight bikepack adventure with what you have learned.​Give us a call to customize your group needs and find your next adventure in Montana!

The Sky’s the Limit is a short film series from the Montana Office of Tourism & Business Development (MOTBD) that tells the stories of real people chasing adventure in Montana. The films follow the journeys of different people who explore the possibilities and realize their potential in Big Sky Country. The series will inspire you to pursue their own adventure in Montana.

The Whitefish Bike Retreat is honored to have been chosen as one of the few chasing the dream in Montana - We live it everyday - Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

We started grooming fat bike trails this winter for our guests and would like to open them up and share them with everyone- so come out and ride as a Day User. You can ride several groomed loops around the WBR and then connect directly onto the ungroomed Whitefish Trail or take a ride up to Murry or Beaver Lakes when the roads are packed in. If you Fat Bike you know it is all about the conditions - but we will be grooming in the evenings as the conditions allow for fresh trails in the mornings.

Our new sign-in Kiosk is located at the our Trailhead in the Day Use Parking Area at the bottom of the hill. Day Users MUST read our waiver and sign-in at the Kiosk each time riding on WBR property. Our facilities are unstaffed and locked during the winter but Day Use access will be open from 9am to 6pm. Donations are welcomed to help continue Day Use access with the more consistent grooming activity.

If you access the WBR Trails from the Whitefish Trail, please visit the Kiosk in the Day Use Parking Area to sign-in.​The Lodge/Lodge Services are open for guests only so please respect their privacy.

I have always said the hardest part of my job running the Whitefish Bike Retreat is saying goodbye to our guests and watching most of them pedal away. It is true! However, the best part of my job here is hearing from our guests about their rides and journeys that we were able to help them with in some way. Brian and Todd rolled into the WBR, Brian riding a fully loaded Fat Bike that he had ridden all the way up the Great Divide Route from Mexico to Whitefish. I have ridden the Divide many times for sure but it is hard for me to imagine doing so on my Fat Bike so that image never left me or Brian and Todd for that matter. They have stayed in touch with me over the years and in 2016, he and a small posse returned to finish the last section of his journey - Banff back to Whitefish. Now those are good friends!

Play outside all day and then end the day with your friends and family in our toasty Lodge. WBR is grooming Fat Bike trails for our guests to enjoy for the first time - fat bike, snowshoe or XC ski our trails - you choose - they are only yours! Our location is secluded and only minutes from downtown Whitefish as well as close to the world class skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

We Have 20 Acres Of Winter Fun!Rent The Whole Lodge For Exclusive Use!

Or Visit And Stay In One Of Our Private Rooms!- Affordable Lodging In Whitefish -

Yes, the snow is falling outside and the Skis and Fat Bikes are all out and about but that summer trip is in your head already! The possibilities are endless! WHERE WILL YOUR BIKE TAKE YOU IN 2017?​Now is the time to start planning those epic adventures for Spring and Summer - get all the logistics taken care of so when the day comes for you to hop on your bike, all you have to do is turn the cranks!

So where do you want or need to go?The Whitefish Bike Retreat is here to help you! Banff, Roosville, Helena, Butte, local trailheads or you name it - we can get you there and back!Planning your adventure is the best part of any trip as you wait til the day you leave with anticipation for all the memories that you will make!The logistics of any trip can be a challenge without the local knowledge.In addition to our shuttles, you can rent Bikes and Bike Bag Sets for your trip. Need help with packing or navigation - we can help!Want to talk Great Divide - well it is our favorite subject!WBR staff looks forward to helping you find your ride!

Plan your family vacation to Whitefish at the Whitefish Bike Retreat. Our Lodge is open all year for guests to enjoy the outdoor recreational possibilities out the back door or close by - AND only minutes from downtown Whitefish! The Lodge can comfortably accommodate family and friend gatherings with our 6 rooms and 15 beds, full kitchen, indoor and outdoor common spaces. There is room to roam and explore with with our 20 acres located next to state land and the Whitefish Trail.

Visiting northwestern Montana has many treasures to explore and one of the best known is Glacier National Parks Going-To-The-Sun Road. When the road opens to vehicles, in the summer months, is how most visitors experience this epic road ride. But for the few who can visit the area in the shoulder seasons of Spring and Fall, the road is a huge sidewalk. The road is gated at the first signs of winter in the Fall and during Spring during plowing activities and, of course, current conditions dictate how far you can ride up the road safely.

I had a guest from Michigan visiting for a few weeks this Fall. She arrived in the cold rain by AmTrak in the dark and for the first week of her visit saw nothing but rain, clouds and mud as she rode trails around the Whitefish Bike Retreat and town. She was smiling and laughing and just so happy to be here in Montana - nothing could change that.

The rain that fell around Whitefish was snow and ice in Glacier Park. I played hookie from Retreat work for a day so she could experience more of Montana so we went to go play in Glacier National Park at the sign of the first sunny clear day. We had to been the luckiest people on the planet that day!

We had this epic road all to ourselves - just 4 hikers down around Avalanche Area and that was it. I live here and I never experienced a day like this - proof that this majestic land still amazes me in every season! Yes it was cold, very cold indeed but knowing we had a truck with a heater to return to made dealing with the cold bearable. ​We lived through the cold with all our digits will intact and saw Montana in all its glory!